Sage registered the shift in the room’s rhythm before he looked up—boots on the floor, a quiet pause in the conversation.
Law.
The former soldier stood just inside the doorway, tall enough that the frame almost looked smaller around him.
Law started toward the counter.
“What kind of trouble are you causing this early?”
Sage returned to his laptop.
“Falling down a rabbit hole,” he said lightly. “Pretty sure it’s your fault.”
That earned a faint huff of amusement.
Law stopped beside the counter, leaning one hand against the edge as Sage turned the laptop slightly toward him.
Lines of names and file references streamed down the screen.
Law leaned closer, studying the screen.
Sage tapped one entry with the tip of his finger.
“Adrian,” he said. “Apparently, he’s been hanging out in a database he shouldn’t exist in.”
Law studied the entry.
“Meaning?”
Sage flicked open another file, curiosity fully engaged now.
“Meaning,” he said thoughtfully, “Adrian might not have been working alone.”
The screen shifted as another directory expanded.
Older file architecture.
Older tags.
A list of archived operations appeared—most of the names were flagged inactive.
Dead.
Missing.
Buried.
Sage scrolled.
Then stopped.
His bouncing foot stilled against the cabinet.
Law noticed immediately.
“What is it?”
Sage leaned a little closer to the screen, eyes narrowing as he clicked into the header of the file.
